


Through the Darkest Nights

by AerisLei



Category: RWBY
Genre: Cuddling, M/M, drunken qrow, minor wound care
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-13
Updated: 2020-10-13
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:13:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26981197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AerisLei/pseuds/AerisLei
Summary: Qrow is injured coming back in from a mission, and Ozpin is the one he ends up calling to come help him. Hazy from alcohol and blood loss, Qrow decides he doesn’t want to let Ozpin go.
Relationships: Qrow Branwen/Ozpin
Comments: 4
Kudos: 46





	Through the Darkest Nights

Ozpin was concentrating on the paperwork spread out on the desk in front of him. Applications and transcripts for the coming year at Beacon, mostly. One spot was already solidified, going to Miss Rose, but he had a number of openings to fill and many… many more applications than he could possibly accept. Some would likely criticize him for taking on Ruby so young, but the Headmaster was quite used to that, by now.

He had his reasons, as in everything. Schnee, hm? Weiss, the middle child. Surprising that she was applying here instead of Atlas Academy, certainly Ironwood wouldn’t have _rejected_ her.

Hazel eyes skimmed the application thoughtfully before moving over to the included transcript. But, before he could really get into the meat of what Miss Schnee would bring to the table, his scroll began to buzz. It was a very particular pattern, one he recognized better than most.

Instinctively Ozpin reached for the scroll and swiped at the answer button. “Qrow?” There was concern in his tone. Branwen generally sent his messages in text, even over the Scroll. At first, there was no answer from the other side of the line, and that worried him more and more the longer it stretched. “Qrow, where are you? What’s going on?” Ozpin pressed, voice maintaining its constant calm despite the way his heart started to race.

“M’at the safe house. The one in Vale.” There was a slight pause. “Couldn’ go any further.” There was a distinctive slur to Qrow’s words. Ozpin thought it spoke of alcohol, yes, but there was something else.

“Stay on the line with me.” Ozpin said, the words _could have been_ an order, but his tone softened them into a plea.

“Mmm n’kay.”

It didn’t take Ozpin long to slip out of his office and lock the door, nor did it take long for him to make his way towards the safe house that Qrow had mentioned. It was good that the other was finally back in Vale, and soon enough Ozpin would have a solid idea of what his spy had found.

Ozpin didn’t often like using the term ‘spy’ in reference to Qrow. The huntsman was _very_ good at his job though, and sometimes there was nothing else to call that work. HIs bird form made it extremely easy for him to escape notice. Which made this doubly concerning.

There was no sense in worrying about it before he got there and got the chance to evaluate the situation. It was possible Qrow had just gotten more drunk than expected and that was the reason that he hadn’t made it to Beacon properly.

Their exchanges were light, but Qrow’s answers drifted further and further away from making sense. “I’m about to come in. Don’t shoot me.”

There was a distant affirmative, and Ozpin opened the door and slipped inside before locking it behind him, just in case.

The scent of blood hit him before he even turned the light on. The coppery scent hung thickly in the air, and if Ozpin had been worried before, he was now. The light switch was found by a hand sliding along the wall.

Qrow was half collapsed on a chair, the safe house’s first aid kit open on the table beside him. It was clear that he hadn’t made it far into tending his own wounds before he realized he couldn’t go any further and had called for help.

The man’s white shirt was ruined, shredded with where various attacks had marked him, and also heavily stained with blood. Ozpin let out a slow breath and straightened his back, squaring his shoulders and some part of him assumed the persona of the Headmaster of Beacon Academy.

 _It was easier to face people he loved being hurt behind a persona_. It was easier to do what needed to be done.

“You’ve really done it this time, you silly bird.” His tone was softly affectionate as he approached the other. Unfocused red eyes tried to follow his movements across the space, but were only really successful once Ozpin pulled a chair beside Qrow’s and sat down properly. “You’ll have to tell me how this happened, exactly.”

Ozpin was mostly talking to himself by this point, he knew. But Qrow had told him once that it was comforting to hear him speak, even when Qrow was well beyond being able to answer.

“I’m going to have to talk your shirt off so I can get at these better.” Ozpin murmured, and the other offered no resistance as he did so. He made quick work of cleaning most of the blood off of Qrow’s skin, and then moved into cleaning and bandaging the wounds.

It would be a few hours at least before Qrow’s aura began to recover enough that he would be more than _somewhat_ coherent, and Ozpin wasn’t up for attempting to move him from the safe house back to the school until he could at least mostly manage his own weight.

Ozpin sent a quick message to Glynda warning her he would probably not be back for some time, possibly until morning and set his scroll down beside Qrow’s.

“What am I going to do with you?” He asked softly, more or less talking to himself again. “Well, let’s start by getting you in bed.”

Ozpin was, at least, stronger than he looked. And it wasn’t terribly hard to move Qrow from the chair to the bed in the safe house. He had not, however, been anticipating the way the other huntsman’s long limbs tangled around him and refused to let go.

Carefully he started to slip out of Qrow’s grip.

“No. Mine.” Qrow mumbled, pulling him closer.

Ozpin _could_ have broken away, but the declaration caught him so completely off-guard that he froze for a moment, looking down to meet hazy crimson eyes.

The old soul settled down onto the bed after a moment or two, getting comfortable since it seemed the other didn’t plan to let go. He took a moment to take off his outer jacket and the vest beneath it, leaving only the turtleneck. It was at least comfortable, in case he ended up falling asleep during his watch over Qrow.

They’d have to talk about this - later, when the Huntsman was awake. But for the moment, maybe it didn’t matter. It wasn’t as if Qrow could explain himself _now_.

* * *

Qrow didn’t remember much of the night before. That wasn’t _unusual_. It wasn’t even _that_ unusual that there was a warm body in the bed beside him. What _was_ unusual was that he was laying with his head resting on whoever it was, after all typically Qrow was _not_ a cuddler.

Qrow shifted around and let go of his partner, and doing so reminded him of a number of injuries in various stages of healing thanks to his Aura. Logic also finished catching up, and aside from his shirt being gone, both of them were clothed.

That was probably a good thing. Except… who had he- one eye opened and he was met with green. A very _familiar_ green turtleneck, actually.

Qrow’s heart sank.

What had he _said_ last night?

“Good morning.” Ozpin had _clearly_ noticed his consciousness.

“Mornin.” Qrow grumbled, still somewhat concerned about what he must have _said_ to end up with the headmaster in _bed_ with him. The voice confirmed what the turtleneck had started to tell him.

Qrow knew he must have contacted the headmaster when he’d been trying to tend his own injuries. The huntsman had a hazy memory of the night before, but he _had_ been injured and there was a significant amount of blood, he knew that much.

“What did I _do_ last night?”

“Nothing that means I won’t be able to look you in the eye, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

Qrow sputtered. Somehow, that was absolutely _not_ comforting. “Oz…”

There was a bit of an amused glimmer in the other’s brown eyes. “Honestly, nothing. I patched up your wounds, put you to bed. You didn’t want to let go, so I stayed. Harmless.” He skipped right over the _‘No, mine_ _’_ for the moment. “How are you feeling?”

“Like I got hit by a truck.”

“…You _didn’t_ did you?”

“Wh- no. No it was a particularly nasty Ursa.” And… quite a few other things Qrow couldn’t remember _everything_ that had happened last night, but certainly he’d feel _worse_ if he’d really been hit by a truck. “Sorry, I know you’re busy. I didn’t- I should’ve called Tai instead.”

“I was closer.” Ozpin reasoned mildly. “And you’d have had to be coherent enough to give Tai an address, I don’t think he’s ever been to this safe house.”

Probably not, Qrow conceded mentally, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to stick to that he _should have_ called Tai, not Ozpin.

“I didn’t mind coming, Qrow.”

Despite the attempt at reassurance Qrow turned and sat up on the edge of the bed, looking away from Ozpin. It gave the older man a good view of his back, and of the large number of scars that marked the pale skin.

Qrow heard Ozpin sigh behind him, and felt the bed move as the other got up finally.

“I’d rather you call me, and I come than find out you didn’t and lose you.” Ozpin said, his words carefully chosen. “I’ve lost too many good friends over the years, Qrow. Don’t… make me lose you sooner than I have to.”

Ozpin stepped out of the room before Qrow had time to fully process what the headmaster had said, and he could hear the older man moving around in large outer room that was more-or-less an open space combining the kitchen, living, and dining rooms. Qrow hung back for several moments.

A hazy flicker of himself hugging onto Ozpin and saying something - mine? - came back through the drunken haze of the night before, and Qrow decided he was entirely too sober for this situation. The hangover was starting to develop, a headache starting in his temples. It would only get worse. Finding his flask wasn’t difficult, and he felt steadier after a drink from it.

He always felt steadier after a drink or two.

He’d told Ozpin more than he’d meant to with those words, but as long as that was _all_ Qrow had said, it was probably fine. It was better if Ozpin didn’t _know_ , if he wasn’t aware because it wasn’t as if Qrow expected anything of the headmaster. It wasn’t like he could _ask_ for anything.

“I seem to be missing a shirt.” Qrow said as he finally emerged from the bedroom.

“It’s draped on the chair, but it’s going to take some serious cleaning to be wearable. I’ll bring you something down from what you have stored at the school.” He just hadn’t had _time_ to do that the night before.

Qrow glanced at the shirt in question and winced, seeing just how badly soaked with blood it had been.

They ate breakfast in relative quiet exchanging only mild pleasantries, and Qrow thought perhaps Ozpin was going to leave their conversation from that morning alone. After breakfast Qrow gave the report about his mission.

“Something on your mind, old man?” Qrow asked, taking another drink from his flask, and noticing the pensive expression remaining on Ozpin’s face.

“Isn’t there always?” Ozpin responded, almost amused.

Qrow could concede that the answer to that question was yes, so he shrugged slightly.

“You can pretend I never said this,” Ozpin said rather suddenly, drawing Qrow’s attention back towards the silver haired headmaster immediately, “But I feel like I should say it.”

Qrow nodded, sitting back a bit.

“I’ve spent my last handful of incarnations avoiding getting too close to people. As you might imagine that doesn’t always work out.” Given Qrow himself had the same habit, and certainly last night proved it wasn’t _really_ successful. “I care for you, Qrow. As a friend, as a partner. As an equal.”

As if he could _ever_ be Ozpin’s equal. Qrow looked like he might interrupt, and Oz raised his hand slightly to stop him.

“I would like to get closer to you, outside of simply working with you. If, of course, you didn’t mind.”

There was a silence that stretched between them. Qrow wasn’t sure what to say - there were reasons to deny that request. There were reasons to take the offered way out and just _not say anything_ and pretend it didn’t happen. His semblance made getting close to people dangerous.

But Qrow found he didn’t _want_ to let this go.

Ozpin turned towards the door, clearly intending to leave - it made sense, he had a job to do, and eventually Qrow _would_ need a shirt but… “Wait.”

Qrow rose from the table and moved around it, and Ozpin stilled with one hand on the doorknob. He didn’t know what he was thinking, but he didn’t really _let_ himself think this through either, moving close to the older man before pausing.

Ozpin regarded him with hazel eyes - mostly a rich golden brown in this lighting. Before Qrow had met Oz, he’d never really considered how lovely brown could be.

One of Qrow’s hands gently rested against the headmaster’s cheek. “You can’t just _say_ that and walk away.” Qrow’s voice was quiet, and maybe a little rough.

It lingered there for a heartbeat before Qrow leaned forward and when the headmaster didn’t object, he pressed his lips against Ozpin’s. The kiss was short and soft rather than something longer, deeper. Still, it left a lingering warmth on Qrow’s lips as he took a slight step back to gauge Ozpin’s reaction.

Qrow finally drew his hand back, dropping it back to rest at his side.

It took a moment before Ozpin cleared his throat. “Well I think… that answers that.” There was a slight hint of amusement in his eyes now. “And I would love to follow that up, but I really _do_ need to go back up to the school. Meet you in my office a little later?”

Qrow considered that for a moment before nodding.

They still had a lot to talk about, maybe, but Qrow thought that they’d covered enough for the moment even without words - sometimes, actions were better anyway.

**Author's Note:**

> Shipwrecked Fanzine celebrating Qrow available for free on PDF [here](https://shipwreckedfanzine.tumblr.com/post/616330902048587776/sharing-ship-wrecked-contributions-zine), though the main tumblr [here](https://shipwreckedfanzine.tumblr.com) has a lot of cool stuff too!. 
> 
> I can be found on Tumblr here at [Aerisleis-fics](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/aerisleis-fics)!


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